Day 15 - How Much Is Enough?

I want to take this week to answer some questions I've been asked regarding my diet.

After a previous blog post, some people asked about serving/portion sizes.  

During this 28 days of anti-candida plus blood type diet, you are doing two things: deliberately avoiding all sugars, in an attempt to destroy candida overgrowth in the body and bring it under control; and attempting to eliminate all possible trigger foods for a time, with a plan to re-introduce different foods slowly back into the diet to see if there are negative reactions.

This is a temporary plan for the above mentioned purposes only.  It is not a healthy long term eating plan, and was never intended to be a weight-loss plan.  

You are depriving your body not only of sugar, but of a variety of foods - which the body needs.

I told you in the beginning that I am not a doctor or a nutritionist.  That said, I think the most important factor here is quality, not quantity.  Of course, you really can get too much of a good thing, and it is important to vary your green vegetables throughout the month, as well as including as many of the foods on the list as you can.  

This whole month is all about educating yourself about food and health, and about learning to listen to your body.  Do yourself a favor, and research nutrition facts and serving sizes for the foods you are eating on this plan.  Pay attention to how you feel, and adjust your serving sizes as needed.  (During week 1, I was feeling extremely weak, probably because of candida die-off, and I ended the week with a small piece of chocolate - certainly not on the list of allowed foods, but it kept me going, and I didn't cave into the temptation to quit.  Since then, I've had increasing energy, and I'm feeling great.)

Eggs, turkey and nuts are all good protein sources.  If you are vegan, then consider adding quinoa, flax seeds, and cannellini, northern, or white beans  for protein.  I found a really neat protein calculator online, that shows you how much protein your body needs, so you have something to go on. 

If you find that there is absolutely nothing on the list that you like, and therefore this diet is just not for you, then you have a big problem!  You probably eat so much processed food, and so little fresh vegetables, that you have never developed a taste for real food, and I'm just guessing you have numerous health issues to prove it.  Don't worry - with a little (okay, maybe a whole lot of) self discipline, you can retrain your brain and your taste buds.  Keep in mind, your body was never designed to eat chemicals and artificial "food" - that stuff is poison!  Given time, your body will not only get used to eating real food, but it will thank you!

As long as you are eating a variety of vegetables, it's okay to eat more or less, depending on how you feel.  Remember, this very strict protocol is only for a time.  Just as "no child ever starved to death from missing a meal", you won't starve to death from missing a burger and a couple of desserts.  You are doing your body far more good than harm during this time.  As long as you are feeling okay, you should be fine.